With the Steelers mired in a funk that has seen them drop their last three games and eight of their past 10 dating back to last season, calls have increasingly come for Mike Tomlin to replace Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback.
But it doesn't appear that is going to happen anytime soon.
When asked Tuesday if he has confidence that Roethlisberger is the best quarterback to lead the Steelers (1-3) through this season, Tomlin's reply was simple.
"Absolutely," Tomlin said. "What he does and what he’s done makes me really comfortable in saying that."
The calls for Mason Rudolph to take over are something new in Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger has led the Steelers to three Super Bowls, winning two. Last Sunday, he became the eighth quarterback in NFL history to throw 400 career touchdown passes. He also moved past Dan Marino into sixth place on the all-time passing yardage list.
But there's little doubt the 18-year-veteran isn't playing his best football. According to Tomlin, however, it's not simply a case of one player -- in this case the quarterback -- playing poorly. It's been a group effort.
"It’s him some, it’s us collectively some," Tomlin said. "We’ve just got to keep working. Sometimes it can be contributed to altering of plans because of player availability or guys not being available. We lost Chase Claypool in the latter part of the week last week. So we had to alter our plans in some instances.
"But we’re not making excuses. We’ve had some big-play opportunities. We haven’t cashed in on them. We need to cash in on them. They’re a big component of moving the ball and scoring, particularly when you’re not working as efficiently on possession downs, which we aren’t. Chunk plays eliminate a lot of execution."
Those have largely been missing for the Steelers during their 10-game slide, though Roethlisberger did connect on a 45-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson and a 30-yard completion to James Washington in last Sunday's 27-17 loss in Green Bay. He did, however, fail to connect with JuJu Smith-Schuster on two long passes down the seam that could have both resulted in touchdowns or at least big gains in the loss.
And that has been a common theme.
"Honestly, it’s a little bit of both of us: the receivers and the quarterback," Roethlisberger said. "In order for a deep ball to successful, both parties have to be on the same page. They have to understand the coverage and what’s going on. At the end of the day, I’m the one throwing it. I’m the one who has to make it happen. I’m the one who has to hit the guys. Regardless of where they are on the field, regardless of what the coverage is, it comes down to me to get them the ball.”
Roethlisberger is dealing with a hip injury this week for the Steelers' game Sunday against the Broncos (3-1), his second injury of the season. Earlier this season, he was listed on the injury report with a pectoral issue.
If Roethlisberger can't play against the Broncos, the Steelers would turn to Rudolph, it's longtime backup.
"I have a lot of confidence in Mason," Tomlin said. "We’ve called on Mason in the past and he’s been able to play winning football. I think it’s reasonable to expect that but for that to continue to improve. I know he clocks in here every day with an attitude toward getting better and being ready when called upon."
But don't expect that to happen as long as Roethlisberger is capable of playing.
Whether Roethlisberger can make it through 17 games remains to be seen. He's been sacked 10 times and hit 21 times in the first four games. That, however, is what happens when you have a 39-year-old quarterback who lacks mobility leading a struggling offense. The Steelers are averaging 16.8 points per game this season and have scored five offensive touchdowns in four games. Only the Bears, Dolphins and Jets have been worse.
The running game, which was supposed to be improved to help take some of the load off Roethlisberger's shoulders with the addition of Najee Harris, hasn't produced as of yet. The Steelers rank dead last in the league at 55.3 rushing yards per game.
But Tomlin did see some positive results in that regard against the Packers, as Harris had just one run on which he was stopped for a negative gain as he rushed 14 times for 65 yards.
"I thought we minimized negativity," Tomlin said. "We had less negative plays than we’ve had. We got hats on hats. There weren’t unblocked defenders. Our identification above the neck was better. We were good in situational ball. We converted a third-and-1. We converted a goal line stance. Those are good things to build upon."
Rome wasn't built in a day. And neither will the Steelers' running game suddenly erupt and begin to carry its weight.
So, until that happens, Roethlisberger will still continue to carry the brunt of the load for the offense.
Tomlin remains convinced the future Hall of Fame quarterback can still get the job done.
"Everything except mobility," Tomlin said when asked if he believes Roethlisberger still has what it takes. "I don’t have an answer for that or lack thereof. Ben used to be able to run really good when he was young. Those days are behind him. Other than that, I don’t see much that’s not a discussion in terms of technical alterations or quality of play that can't be improved."
It's just now a matter of making those improvements.
And the Steelers need it to happen quickly. Steelers Nation is restless.
"I think Ben and I have been at our jobs long enough that we understand what comes with it," Tomlin said. "We love Pittsburgh, Pa. We love Steelers Nation and love the passion that they have. We understand that responsibilities that come with our roles, him being a quarterback, me being a head coach. Often times, we get too much credit when things are going well, and we’re always ready to absorb the negativity of our positions when things aren’t going well. That’s just life for us."